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Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Schmitt, Eric-Emmanuel
Legal name: Schmitt, Éric-Emmanuel
Birthdate: 1960-03-28
Gender: male
Nationality: France (birth)
Belgium
Birthplace: Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, Rhone, France
Places of residence: Lyon, France
Paris, France
Brussels, Belgium
Education: Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris (philosophy)
Occupations: novelist
fiction writer
director
dramatist
Relationships: Grimaldi, Nicolas (Directeur de thèse)
Organizations: Lycée militaire de Saint-Cyr
Université de Besançon
Lycée de Cherbourg
Université de Chambéry
Théâtre Rive Gauche, Paris, France (Co-Direction, 2012)
Awards and honors: Académie française (Grand Prix du théâtre ∙ 2001)
Short biography: En une dizaine d’années, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt est devenu un des auteurs francophones les plus lus et les plus représentés dans le monde.

Né en 1960, normalien, agrégé de philosophie, docteur, il s’est d’abord fait connaître au théâtre avec Le Visiteur, cette rencontre hypothétique entre Freud et peut-être Dieu, devenue un classique du répertoire international. Rapidement, d’autres succès ont suivi : Variations énigmatiques, Le Libertin, Hôtel des deux mondes, Petits crimes conjugaux, Mes Evangiles, La Tectonique des sentiments… Plébiscitées tant par le public que par la critique, ses pièces ont été récompensées par plusieurs Molière et le Grand Prix du théâtre de l’Académie française. Son œuvre est désormais jouée dans plus de quarante pays.

Il écrit le Cycle de l’Invisible, quatre récits sur l’enfance et la spiritualité, qui rencontrent un immense succès aussi bien sur scène qu’en librairie : Milarepa, Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran, Oscar et la dame rose et L’Enfant de Noé. Une carrière de romancier, initiée par La Secte des égoïstes, absorbe une grande partie de son énergie depuis L’Evangile selon Pilate, livre lumineux dont La Part de l’autre se veut le côté sombre. Depuis, on lui doit Lorsque j’étais une œuvre d’art, une variation fantaisiste et contemporaine sur le mythe de Faust et une autofiction, Ma Vie avec Mozart, une correspondance intime et originale avec le compositeur de Vienne. Deux recueils de nouvelles se sont ajoutés récemment: Odette Toulemonde et autres histoires, 8 destins de femmes à la recherche du bonheur, est inspiré par son premier film tandis que la rêveuse d'Ostende est un bel hommage au pouvoir de l'imagination.

En 2006 il écrit et réalise son premier film: Odette Toulemonde. (Sortie le 7 février 2007)

Amoureux de musique, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt a également signé la traduction française des Noces de Figaro et de Don Giovanni. Toujours curieux, il ouvre en permanence de nouvelles portes, tend de nouveaux miroirs, pour notre plus grand plaisir.

Il vit à Bruxelles et toutes ses œuvres en français sont éditées par Albin Michel.

Members

Reviews

The Carousel of Desire by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt

The Carousel of Desire is a beautifully crafted set of stories by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt all focused on love, romance and desire.

This book was hard to get through, if I'm being honest. There are SO many character and storylines to follow that it was really hard to put the book down and pick it back up. I would forget what people were doing, and even when I took notes I felt it had the "Game of Thrones" effect for me. Too many people around, to many things going on and fantastic writing. It kind of upset me.

The Carousel of Desire was translated, and boy it is marvelous. Reading it felt like cheating fine chocolate or sipping on fine wine - it's absolutely glorious. If you want a well crafted book that felt like it was written by someone who truly loves literature and crafting stunning sentences, this book is for you. I was honestly floored by some of the descriptions because they're just... good. Too good.

All of the stories interconnect through a series of notes being passed around. The notes express sentiments of love, and every set of romantic partners/couples/trios/squares get one. Watching the drama play out was fun as well, but I felt like it would have been way more enjoyable if the stories had been separated. If I only had to focus on one story at a time instead of waiting twenty chapters to get the second part to a couple I read in chapter one.

HOT TAKE TIME: I'd also argue that this book is a very adult book. It's R rated for some of the sex scenes and it ventures into various types of sexual relationships. Old/young, true love, asexuality, threesomes, young love, and second chance at love being some of the major ones. But... you can tell this was written by a man (only at times). Some of the descriptions and comments said in the book don't sound romantic, they sound ravenous (but at times when it is supposed to be romantic). Sure, maybe the characters are just horn bags and like talking that way, but I didn't feel like the character studies felt like a variety. They felt like different ways to have sex written in a man's imagination.

One story really angered me, and it was a woman who hated her body. Yes, they exist and most women have their insecurities but some of the descriptions about her made me want to throw up. It didn't feel like it was written in an honest take, but rather as an insult to women who don't appreciate themselves. Others might not see it that way, but I really did not enjoy that story. I've read other novels where they address this issue, but they don't insult the character along the way. It felt... distasteful and weird. It's a bad execution of the idea, in my opinion.

Overall, this felt like a very pessimistic book for me. It's definitely not a book I enjoyed as a reader but other people will thoroughly enjoy it. Maybe I'm getting soft with the novels I like to read... Either way, it wasn't a book for me. I still think Eric-Emmanuel is a master of description and sounds like an author I would have read in my literature classes - beautiful writing style with beautiful prose.

One out of five stars - it's just not for me. It took me a long time fighting myself to finish this book, unfortunately.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.… (more)

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Briars_Reviews | 3 other reviews | Aug 4, 2023 |

The Most Beautiful Book in the World: 8 Novellas by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt

Book Review:

Title: The Most Beautiful Book in the World: Eight Novellas
Author: Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Date Read: September 4th - September 26th, 2016
Date Reviewed: September 26th, 2016

Introduction: I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I wanted to read this because I was lacking in anthologies as of lately - I had almost none on my shelf!

Spoilers Ahead?: No.

Quick Summary: This anthology is full of eight different novellas that are not related. They are cute, short stories that are sure to entertain the reader. These are merely eight random stories, nothing that is to hard for the average reader to comprehend, and nothing sci-fi or crazy plot wise. It is a set of contemporary fiction novellas.

Evaluations: Some stories spoke more to me than others, but all eight of them were beautifully written. I enjoyed each novella as they came, and even though it took me a while to get through the novel, that was merely because I wanted to read one story at a time. If a reader goes in expecting a simple, entertaining read, than this book is for them!

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't extraordinary. It was just a good read.

Plot: Each of the plots are finished within each story. I was thoroughly impressed by Mr. Schmitt's writing. Many authors create a fictional world within their novellas and then the reader is left craving more. Mr. Schmitt sums each story up perfectly and the endings left me feeling complete. I did not require more and I did not require less - so bravo to this fabulous author.

Themes/Creativity: When I read over other reviews of this novel, it was clear either readers swung one way or the other. You hate this set of novellas, or you love it. If you are expecting a grande, exquisite set of stories then this anthology is not for you. It is contemporary, French literature, and readers should be aware of this coming in. The stories are creative in their own right, with each being different from the rest. They are fast past, they have a simple narrative and they are not super sophisticated. I couldn't find any themes, but I would say this little anthology is creative.

Uniqueness: Each story is unique in their own way. Some of the stories, such as the first Wanda Winnipeg, may put the reader off if they are not fully invested in the anthology. Some of the stories are brighter and more unique than others, while some of them are simply plot driven and simple minded. Since this anthology was originally in French, I would have loved to read the French version without translation, because there may have been some words lost in translation.

Strengths: Mr. Schmitt's plot driven writing is by far one of the best strengths. He gets to the point and writes a wonderful story!

Weaknesses: I found that the sophistication within these stories was very bland. I would have loved some grander stories, but perhaps the book was not meant to be grande and sophisticated.

Score: 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed the novel, but I hoped for a little bit more. I would definitely read more wrote by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt in the future.
… (more)

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Briars_Reviews | 23 other reviews | Aug 4, 2023 |

Nửa Kia Của Hitler by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt

Khi đã đọc đến 3/4 cuốn sách vẫn cho rằng đấy là 2 con người với 2 câu chuyện riêng rẽ, tách biệt. Về sau mới bắt đầu thấy được mối liên hệ, bắt đầu ghép nối 2 mảnh rời đó lại thành một chỉnh thể duy nhất mà thực ra trong đó bao hàm rất nhiều những phân mảnh có phần đối nghịch tồn tại độc lập trong những chiều không gian khác nhau, chịu tác động từ những hoàn cảnh khác nhau. Lựa chọn quyết định số mệnh cá nhân và lịch sử nhân loại. Phần ngoài sáng và phần được kềm giữ trong bóng tối (con quỷ dữ tồn tại trong mỗi con người). Cuồng tín và chứng loạn thần kinh. Chiến tranh và nghệ thuật. Và nét chấm đỏ đáng yêu: Mười-một-giờ-rưỡi. Một cuốn sách gây nên nhiều hứng thú cho người đọc có nhiều thời gian để nhấm nháp những chi tiết, một hành trình khá thú vị.… (more)

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oceaninmypocket | Nov 30, 2022 |

خرده جنایت‌های زناشوهری by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt

احسان عمادی و زهرا الوندی مدت‌ها پیش تو سری همشهری داستان نوشته‌های مشترک طنزی می‌نوشتن با عنوان «خرده روایت‌های زن و شوهری و من هر موقع این نمایشنامه رو می‌دیدم یاد اون داستان‌ها که خیلی بهم می‌چسبید می‌افتادم. اما درباره این نمایشنامه... اولش که شروع شد با روانی و روایت زیباش میخکوبم کرد... خیلی لذت بردم و پشت سر هم داشتم بدون کنترل می‌خوندم اما کم‌کم روایت برام قابل پیش‌بینی شد و حتی از انتظار من جا می‌موند... جاهایی انتظار داشتم بیشتر توی رابطه لیزا و ژیل واکاوی بشه... به هرحال موقعی که تموم شد برخلاف لذت اولیه‌ حس کردم یه نمایشنامه متوسط خوندم و اصلاً انتظارش رو نداشتم.… (more)

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Mahdi.Lotfabadi | 6 other reviews | Oct 16, 2022 |

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